NPP Pressroom

[Northampton, MA] – The three federal budget proposals for FY2014 released this week reflect very different visions and priorities for the nation. National Priorities Project (NPP) has analyzed and compared how Paul Ryan, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Patty Murray each propose to address key budget and policy issues including Social Security, Medicare, Education, Military Spending, Job Creation, Taxes, and more.

The Ryan budget emphasizes deficit reduction, even at the expense of social programs that have broad support from the public, while the CPC budget prioritizes job creation and reducing deficits through additional tax revenue. Patty Murray’s budget falls somewhere in the middle – preserving social programs but also making some spending reductions and increasing tax revenue.

Some of the key findings from NPP’s report include:

On Job Creation, 95 percent of Americans say restoring the job market is a top priority. The Ryan budget includes no new funding for job creation while the CPC budget includes $4.2 trillion for job creation and the Murray budget includes $100 billion.

On SNAP/Food Stamps, 75 percent of Americans oppose cuts to SNAP. The Ryan budget makes deep cuts to SNAP funding while the CPC budget increases funding and the Murray budget makes no changes.

On Deficit Reduction, 72 percent of Americans say this is a top priority. The Ryan budget reduces deficits by $5.7 trillion over 10 years while the CPC budget reduces them by $2.7 trillion over 10 years and the Murray budget reduces them by $1.8 trillion over 10 years.

On Education, 73 percent of Americans support making college education more affordable. The Ryan budget reduces funding to make college more affordable while the CPC budget expands education funding and the Murray budget calls for increasing affordability but does not specify how.

On the Tax Code, 66 percent of Americans want to see higher taxes for the wealthiest taxpayers. The Ryan budget steeply reduces tax rates for the top earners while the CPC budget eliminates Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy taxpayers and the Murray budget places limits on tax expenditures claimed by the top earners.

On Military Spending, 58 percent of Americans would like to reduce spending by the military. The Ryan budget prevents reductions in military spending while the CPC budget reduces military spending by $897 billion over a decade and the Murray budget cuts $240 billion.

“Budgets are about priorities, and these three budget proposals outline three very different futures for our nation,” said Mattea Kramer, Research Director at National Priorities Project.

“As Americans, we have the right and responsibility to weigh in on which of these budget proposals most closely aligns to what we want to see for our families, our communities, and our country,” Kramer added. “We must demand that Congress follow a transparent and accountable budgeting process to get out of the cycle of dysfunction and crisis that has gripped our national budget for the past two years.”

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About the National Priorities Project:

National Priorities Project (NPP) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that makes our complex federal budget transparent and accessible so people can exercise their right and responsibility to influence how their tax dollars are spent. NPP believes the U.S. federal budget will reflect the values and priorities of a majority of Americans when allpeople have the opportunity and ability to participate in shaping our nation's budget.